Psychology Commons^™

Life Coaching -- Rising In Popularity Should It Be Regulated? A Look Into The Life And Work Of Emerging Life Coaching Star Gina Devee, Victoria R. Edwards

Capstones

The lifestyle and business coaching field is an international industry that grosses more than $2 billion, but it has no outside regulation. Some critics worry that without regulation harm can be brought to clients, but others say regulation would bring too much restriction into this growing industry.

How Do Designers Of The Built Environment Attempt To Make Ecological Sustainability Sensory Legible?, Carly L. Bartow

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper attempts to provide a theoretical framework for making ecosystem function and ecologically sustainable design more perceptible or sensible to people through architecture and the built environment. Design features of the Bertschi School Science Wing and the Bullitt Center in Seattle, Washington are incorporated to illustrate the sensory legibility of ecological sustainability criteria.The criteria are available to designers to help educate a building's occupants on environmentally sustainable design and motivate more sustainable behavior.

A Theoretical Analysis Of Isis Indoctrination And Recruitment, Trevor Hawkins

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper is an attempt to use various theories in the social sciences as a tool to understand the mechanisms employed in ISIS indoctrination and recruitment tactics. There is a discussion of theories that have been developed in the field of influence psychology, rationalizing the context of indoctrination within this area of study. There is a discussion of proposedly relevant materials in philosophy, specifically simulacrum and linguistic deconstruction. These components are extrapolated to interpret a first person account of ISIS indoctrination, the first-ever ISIS recruitment film, and a Radical-Islamist periodical Inspire Magazine. Using a form of propaganda film analysis, and …

The Discursive Functioning Of Knowledge Claims In Research Studies On Children’S Conceptual Knowledge Of Number, Patrick D. Byers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Researchers interested in the development of conceptual knowledge of number have studied children’s behavior in various tasks or other contexts in order to draw conclusions about what they know. The guiding assumption of this work is that the presence or absence of a given form of knowledge is typically reflected in the ability/inability to perform certain types of behavior. Researchers complicate this assumption when they claim that (1) the ability to perform a given behavior may also reflect simple imitation or rote learning in the absence of understanding, and/or (2) that the inability to perform a certain behavior may reflect …

Understanding Attitude Towards Help Seeking In Predicting Preference For Psychotherapeutic Orientation, Gregory J. Petronzi

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This research examined the extent to which people’s dispositional qualities predict their psychotherapy preferences. Additionally, this study examined the extent to which people’s attitude toward seeking professional psychological help would predict their psychotherapy preferences above and beyond their dispositional characteristics.

An online survey was administered to participants (N = 312) for remuneration. Personality traits were measured using the HEXACO-60, attachment styles were measured using the Relationships Questionnaire (RQ) and Experiences in Close Relationships Scale- Short Form (ECR-S), attitude toward help seeking was measured with the Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale – Short Form (ATSPPHS-SF), and psychotherapy preferences were …

Assessing Decision-Making Capacity After Severe Brain Injury, Andrew Peterson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Severe brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability. Following severe brain injury diagnosis is difficult and errors frequently occur. Recent findings in clinical neuroscience may offer a solution. Neuroimaging has been used to detect preserved cognitive function and awareness in some patients clinically diagnosed as being in a vegetative state. Remarkably, neuroimaging has also been used to communicate with some vegetative patients through a series of yes/no questions. Some have speculated that, one day, this method may allow severely brain-injured patients to make medical decisions. Yet, skepticism is rife, due in part to the inherent difficulty of …

Boundaries And Belonging: Asian America, Psychology, And Psychoanalysis, Natalie C. Hung

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation addresses a vexing problem. In psychology and psychoanalysis, Asian Americans are more often understood as a collective Other than as individual Selves, more frequently an object of study than a subject. Through two overarching aims, my dissertation sheds light on neglected aspects of Asian American selves, the meanings of the invisibility surrounding them, and implications for clinical practice.

First, the project challenges extant psychological perspectives on Asian Americans, which often implicitly assume a wide gulf of difference between Asian American cultural values and the Western epistemologies of psychology and psychoanalysis. Through the examination of academic research, clinical literature, …

Visual Code: Breaking The Binary, Jacob Johannesen, Andrew Adriance

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

This project seeks to create an accessible programming language that is more visually based. Although some solutions exist, namely MIT’s Scratch, nothing has caught up to the mobile age. This proj- ect aims to reframe creating a game or app into the context of tell- ing a story, putting character creation first. By researching sto- ry-telling and how people learn, and by applying technical and user interface design knowledge, this project intends to deliver a soft- ware solution that opens introductory coding education to more people.

Perceptions Of Organizational Continuity: Scale Development And Implications For Organizational Outcomes, Gabino A. Gomez-Canul

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The following study examines the impact that perceptions of organizational continuity (POC) have on organizational identification (OI) and organizational outcomes, including organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and turnover intentions. It was proposed that POC would be an important factor in determining OI, OCBs, and turnover intentions. In order to test this proposition, a scale was developed that measured an individual’s POC within their organization with regards to the organization’s culture and history. A survey was distributed among working individuals that contained the new measure of POC and other established measures of an organization’s culture and values. The sample consisted of 394 …

Phenomenological Psychology In Practice And Research: A Global Perspective On A Human Science, Alex A. Ekstrom

Global Honors Theses

Phenomenology is a philosophical movement, and more recently, an approach taken by healthcare professionals around the world in their work with patients, and by social scientists in their research about human phenomena (Creswell, 2011; Viney & King, 2003). In this paper, I will explore this approach in the field of psychology specifically. I will focus on how phenomenology has been used to enhance the clinical practice of psychology, and in qualitative research in psychology to better understand and promote well-being. I will suggest that the phenomenological approach in psychology leads to a more open-minded and rigorous practitioner and researcher who …

More Than Meets The Eye: Taking A Look At Emdr In Trauma-Focused Therapy, Karen M. Engelhard

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

An abundance of research in trauma-focused therapy has been conducted and continues in the ongoing effort to increase evidence-based approaches to counseling practice. While the therapeutic intervention of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has existed for decades and is now widely accepted as an effective treatment method for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it continues to be surrounded by controversy and criticism as the utility of the eye-movements and its theoretical basis are still not well understood. In this paper, I have discussed theories of trauma and the impact on mind and body, the evolution of EMDR along with its …

Examining Well-Being Among College Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd) And Co-Morbid Diagnoses: An Integrative Approach To Understanding Mental Health, Michael T. Strand

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Deficit and dysfunction in college students with ADHD diagnoses are now well studied and known to be commonplace in clinical psychology research literature (see Green & Rabiner, 2014, for review). However, areas of positive functioning and psychological well-being have not been well examined. This dissertation aims to investigate the extent to aspects of well-being may be more or less developed among college students carrying a diagnosis of ADHD, in comparison to their college peers. This examination utilized a subset of data collected from annual national “Healthy Minds” survey of college student mental health in the United States (Eisenberg, D., Hunt, …

The Development Of The Scale Of Contemplative Practice In Higher Education, Maryann Krikorian

Educational Studies Dissertations

Some scholars have formed a more expansive view of knowledge that moves beyond the cognitive notion of intellect. For example, emotional intelligence (EI) theory posits that human intelligence encompasses both cognitive and emotional competencies, providing a framework for the concept of contemplative practices in an endeavor to support an eclectic understanding of cognition. Contemplative practices may benefit graduate student disposition and inform areas of educator preparation through the use of emotional adeptness in higher education. The purpose of this study was to: (a) develop a self-report measure: Scale of Contemplative Practice in Higher Education (SCOPE); (b) address the issues of …

Optimizing Workforce Performance: Perceived Differences Of Army Officer Critical Thinking Talent Across Level Of Education, Richard B. Ayers

Dissertations

The U.S. Army’s operating environment continues to become increasingly complex and unpredictable, where U.S. technological advantage continues to erode. The complexities stem from the Army’s doctrinal assumption that the future operating environment is unknown and constantly changing (Department of the Army [DA], 2014a). Diminishing technological advantage results in more reliance on soldiers’ cognitive capability, and less on high technology weapons systems (McMaster, 2015).

A review of military literature shows extensive research on the importance of Army leaders to be talented critical thinkers (Fischer, Spiker, & Riedel, 2008, 2009; Gerras, 2008; Thomas & Gentzler, 2013). Human capital literature reveals many college …

Family Communication Motivating Athletics Over Generations: A Mixed Method Expansion Of Self-Determination Theory, Elizabeth Hanson Smith

Dissertations

Mixed methods were utilized to test the communication within a model of self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985) in a multi-generational sports framework in order to argue for an update to self-determination theory (SDT) that includes a communication element. Fourteen qualitative research questions were posed to examine how communication functioned to move tennis players, golfers, and runners from the initial family influence in participating, to integrating family values to the extent that participants modeled athletic values to offspring and community members. Three hypotheses correlating the variables of self-efficacy, autonomy-controlling and autonomy-supportive family communication supported the argument that communication functioned to develop …

Transition Outcomes Of Young Adults With Disabilities: A Social Cognitive Career Theory Perspective, Sabrina Michelle Singleton

Dissertations

Young adults with disabilities are impacted by the learning experiences they engage in as students that help shape their career development post-high school. Researchers have identified moderate-level transition predictors that improve post-school outcomes in employment, postsecondary education, and/or independent living. This study used the Social Cognitive Career Theory to examine if a relationship exists among race/ethnicity, gender, and disability type and transition predictors among young adults with disabilities in Mississippi who completed high school in May of 2013. Additionally, this study explored whether a relationship existed between career decision self-efficacy and engagement in employment or enrollment in postsecondary education. A …

Let Fall: Hysteria And The Psychoanalytic Act, Matthew W. Oyer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This text proposes to examine the contemporary crisis of psychoanalysis by taking seriously feminist critiques of the theory’s phallocentrism, but arguing that the phallus cannot be metaphorically or metonymically replaced by any substitutive term, as most revisionist theories of psychoanalysis have sought to do. Castration is the central psychoanalytic concept, though the theory always seeks to cover it over. In order to develop a psychoanalysis that can confront this castration that is always repressed and yet, in its persistent return, continuously disrupts the continuity of psychoanalytic theory, a detour is proposed, returning to the origins of psychoanalysis and taking hysteria …

Five Degrees: A Short Story, Cassia E. Hinds

Honors Undergraduate Theses

An interwoven fiction piece representing four perspectives and its effects on self-awareness. The most effective way to blur the line of self in this structure is to braid the minds, voices, and stories, of each perspective. With a focal point where all the voices eventually drift to being the frame of the story, there will be a unique distance between the stories. This thesis explores the effects of different types of mental and physiological illnesses through fiction, highlighting the effect of perception on fact and the perspective of the mentally ill.

The Influence Of Freedom And Choice In Action Selection And The Valence Of Action-Outcomes On The Sense Of Agency, Zeynep Barlas Wilfrid Laurier University

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Sense of agency (SoA) refers to the subjective experience that one is the author of their actions and the ensuing outcomes of these actions. Previous research have suggested that both sensorimotor processes and high level inferences can contribute to the SoA. In five experiments, the present thesis examined the effects of action selection processes and the valence of action-outcomes on the SoA. The majority of these experiments measured the SoA by obtaining both subjective feeling of control (FoC) judgments over the action-outcomes, and assessing the size of intentional binding. Intentional binding refers to the perceived temporal attraction between actions and …

Social Problems, Biomedical Answers? How Causes Of Social Problems Affect Choice Of Solutions, Bianca C. Dreyer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

With rapid advances in behavioural genetics, scientists are identifying an increasing array of genetic influences on human behaviour. Public misconceptions about the function of genes often lead to the oversimplification of the role of genes in behaviour (Dar-Nimrod & Heine, 2011). To date, no study has systematically investigated whether simply learning about genetic causes of behaviour affects people’s preferred solutions to problematic behaviours. The present research program includes three studies that were designed to examine the psychological effects of exposure to genetic etiology for problematic behaviour, in particular aggression, and investigated how this information influences endorsement of solutions, rating of …

The Transition From The Psychical To The Psychological: An Examination Of William James’ Influence On Henry James’ “The Turn Of The Screw”, Harry A. Jones Iv

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will show that, in its original form, “The Turn of the Screw” acted as a monument to the intellectual unity shared between Henry James and his brother William. Through evaluating James’ biography, memoirs, and letters with William, this thesis will illustrate the subtle collaborative inspirations that initially helped James write the first twelve-part serial edition of “The Turn of the Screw” for Collier’s Weekly, which ran from January 27, 1898 until April 16, 1898. I will also demonstrate the effect of William’s philosophy and his death on the revisions James’ made to his story as published in the …

Authoritariansim And Collectivism: Antecedents And Consequences Among College Students, Jasmine Samuel Ms.

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) suggests there are five distinct moral dimensions, which define morality as a whole. MFT can be broken down into two groups binding: in group/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity-which encompass group morality. Harm/Care, fairness/reciprocity are individualizing dimensions, which highlight individual morality. Recent work has found MFT predicts sociopolitical ideologies, as well as sociopolitical attitudes. In an effort to better understand the existing relationships we investigate MFT as a predictor of sociopolitical parties, and attitudes Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). We also draw on similarities between Individualism/Collectivism and MFT. Specifically we demonstrate individualizing foundations, and dimensions …